Stone Cold Fall
by MadameLivi
Summary: It's prom night for Eli and Clare, but not to be assured. Someone is about to lose grasp and another is about to lose their meaning. Read the intro and review for more.


Stone Cold

The halls of the hospital were stone cold against his skin as he looked through the window. The blanket was pulled over her remains and the IV was unplugged. It was a ginger moment with the gentleness of a lamb. Who would have known this today would soon be the yesterday of an absent tomorrow for her? No one did…

EARLIER THAT DAY…

The layer of cream was cascading in a fabric waterfall down my body as I looked in the mirror. My blue eyes were surrounded by golden shimmer and my brown curls were lightly pulled up. This was one of those nights that felt like a slow motion fairytale. Your motions all seem too elegant and graceful to believe. My mother came in with her hand over her mouth, holding back her little tears.

"Clare, you look beautiful, sweetheart," she whispered. Her eyes looked like they were proud yet scared. "My baby is going to her first prom!" she almost laughed at herself for not realizing this earlier.

Her thin arms pulled me in for a quick hug as the doorbell rang downstairs. She let me go as I walked down the dim-lit stairway. I opened the door and saw him standing there in all black with a cream tie. He barely had to smirk at me to make the ice of tension melt.

"You look great, Eli," I said as he quickly embraced me softly before my mom came down the stairs.

"Well we know I look great," he smirked looking up at the ceiling, "But I have to stand with someone entirely too beautiful."

"Well I'm entirely too sorry Mr. Great," I smugly laughed at him.

I looked into his stormy green eyes and finally saw my Eli. In a year, he had gone in a three-hundred and sixty degree angle. He had started out soft and sweet, until something ticked. It made him slightly too scared. He went from scared to possessive. He wanted only to be right next to me all the time. I had to end it before one of us snapped. After that he went utterly insane, crashing cars and sabotaging everything that happened. After this one-eighty degree turn, he slowly started to turn back to this calm and gentle person standing in front of me right now.

My mom then came scattering down the stairs with her bulky camera. She looked exasperated as she got it turned on and was smiling widely.

"Okay! Now smile for me!" she squealed like a child on Christmas.

Eli quickly grabbed my waist and pulled me next to him, then grabbing my hand with his free one. He smiled, a real smile at that, towards the camera. So I followed his lead. We must have had to pose for the camera for at least thirty minutes until I finally said we had to go. My mom quickly scurried up and showed me her favorite picture out of her camera roll.

"I _love _this one," she said softly as she held the camera steadily and gingerly for me to see. There I stood, strayed off to the side of Eli with our fingertips barely touching as we looked toward the wall behind us. On the wall, my mom had hung a heart shaped wood frame with a picture of the sunset when we had gone up to Jake's cabin last year (Yes, technically Jake is my brother now. I hate it. But thankfully Jake hates prom, so he and his dad went fishing this week). The sunset was an array of warming colors that flowed into the cream hue of my flowing halter dress in the picture.

I nodded to her and softly said, "That one's a frame-worthy sight."

She nodded back and hugged me quickly before Eli led me out the door. When we got to the car, his newly bought, used hearse (Morty Jr), he opened the door for me and then led me into my seat gently. He got in on the driver's side and we were on our way to the school.

The ride there was relaxing.

"So what do you think about the theme?" I giggled at Eli.

"A Fairytale Ending," he dramatically stated. We both laughed for a good three minutes.

"Adam said that Katie is having Drew wear all white and silver to match her well thought out theme," I mentioned. Then, fell an awful silence.

"I can't believe Adam won't come to his own prom," Eli scoffed.

"Me either, but I mean, what would you do? He got _shot_ at the last prom he went to," I said because how could anyone forget that? Adam wouldn't go to any school dance now. Of course yes, he knew the chances of someone coming and shooting him again were almost non-existent. But if you had gotten hit by a car on a certain street, would you ever feel safe crossing it again?

"Well, then I guess I am just going to have to focus on _you_ all night," Eli groaned playfully.

"I know! It must be an awful chore to do," I joked back at him.

We finally pulled up to the school's parking and got out. The school was lined in silver balloons and decorations on every turn. It looked magical, in a cheesy way. But I wouldn't be the one to complain.

"Wow," said Eli sarcastically as if on cue. "This is Katie's 'well-thought out theme', eh?"

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad," I proposed.

"Oh well I suppose _nothing_ can be bad when you are with the stunning Clare Edwards," Eli whispered as he grabbed my hand and lead me through the glossy, glass doors and towards the gym.

"Oh and by the way, Clare?" he paused before we began to walk in.

"Yeah," flustered, I asked.

"Lay off the blush," he teased.

"But I'm not wearing any," I looked down and felt my cheeks get red hot.

"I know," he laughed and then we walked into the silver lined gym, where a semi-slow dance was wrapping the room in memories.

Little did anyone know, this would be the final happy memory for some…

**Thank you kindly for reading another one of my books. I hope that this short intro will help you grasp (slightly) the meaning of this tragedy. See? I already gave you an exclusive clue! Those who did not read this will never know that this is a tragedy! Anyways, please do go and check out my personal writing website at www. Livibooks. Webs. Com **

** Xoxo,**

**Madame Livi**


End file.
